If you come over for a cup of tea, chances are I’ll make you this. It’s a seemingly simple Bundt but that’s precisely where the joy is found. Easy to make, easy to enjoy. There’s something very satisfying in the simple flavour combination, and by brushing the Bundt with butter and cinnamon sugar at the end it delivers unerring comfort.
Ingredients
For the 6-cup Anniversary Bundt® pan:
15g (1 tbsp/½oz) butter
15g (1 tbsp/½oz) plain flour
For the cake:
115g (1/2 cup/4oz) unsalted butter, softened
140g (3/4 cup/43/4oz) golden caster sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten 1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
A pinch of salt 115g
(1 cup/4oz) self-raising flour
50ml (1/4 cup/13/4fl oz) buttermilk
To finish:
50g (3 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted
75g (5 tbsp/1/3 cup/2¾oz) golden caster sugar
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 160°C fan/180°C/350°F/gas 4.
- Melt the butter, then use a pastry brush to brush it evenly over the inside of a 6-cup Anniversary Bundt® pan, being careful to get into every nook and cranny. I find it easier to brush from the base up to prevent any butter pooling. Sift over the flour, moving the pan from side to side to coat it evenly. Turn it upside down and give it a final tap to remove any excess, then set aside.
- Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl and mix with hand-held electric beaters until pale and fluffy. Add the lightly beaten eggs, one at time, mixing to combine before adding another. Add the vanilla and mix briefly to combine. Add a third of the flour and mix briefly, then add half of the buttermilk and mix. Repeat again and end with the final third of flour. Mix until just combined and smooth. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 25–30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean and the cake springs back to a light touch. Leave to cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10–15 minutes so the air can circulate, then invert onto the wire rack.
- While the Bundt is still warm, use a pastry brush to brush the entire outside with melted butter. Combine the sugar and cinnamon on a plate, then roll the Bundt gently in the sugar. Sprinkle or spoon the remaining sugar over generously to cover the whole Bundt.
- Serve warm. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Extracted from Bundt by Melanie Johnson (Ebury Press, £28). Photography by Nassima Rothacker.